Playstation
2 Laser adjustment
1.
Introduction
There are many FAQs regarding the adjustment of PS2 Laser
units (LU), as Sony seems to adjust /em
too careful, so the LU has a greater life expectance, but
the PS has difficult ies reading some DVDs or
game discs (backups ?).
Most of t he answers give advice to screw a little bit on
the laser pots, but that/s a real nerve wrecking
way of getting your PS to work.
This reworked and rewritten tutorial gives explanation to
properly adjusting the LU.
There also seems to be a problem wit h so me batches of
PS2 - the LU dies and the PS2 can/t read DVDs
and/or CDs anymore. Fortunately there are some vendors
selling refurbished or new laser units - the
problem is that in most cases you have to replace the
unit yourself. The explanations and approaches
given in this tutorial a re meant as a help performing
this task.
Fig. 1: Oscilloscope
Fig. 2: Probe
2. Tools of the trade
For plain adjustments:
1. Oscilloscope ( at least 20 Mhz bandwidth!)
2. 10:1 Scope test probe with clamp
3. a set of presicion screwdriver s (like the ones for
repairing clocks)
4. Philips screwdriver (for removing the PS2 cover)
5. your PS2 utilit y disc ( Jap model) / demo disc (Euro
model) or any other PS1 game disc and a
DVD movie
6. Knowledge on how to use that stuff ... (esp. the
oscilloscope !)
optional:
small piece of thin, isolated wire, solder wick and a
solder iron
Fig. 3: tools for laserreplacement
For replacing the laser unit:
1. precision height gauge (German:
„Schieblehre“ o r „Mikrometerschraube“)
2. TORX T06X40 screwdriver
3. precision screwdriver size 1
4. screw securing lacquer (Loctite screw fastener)
5. solder iron and desolder wick or desolder pump
optional:
some insulation tape
If you don/t have one of the tools above (esp. the scope
and probes ) ask somebody who can lend it
to you (TV repair shops ..), if you lack of [6 knowledge]
then ask somebody who/s familiar with this
(again TV repair shops...) ;)!
3.Disassembling the console (Bringing the console into
service position)
Note:
If you disassemble and modify your PS2 you will lose warranty.
The following procedures should only be done by skilled persons with the
console unplugged from
the mains. If you aren/t sure if you can do this ask somebody who/s
familiar with this kind of
work !!!Furthermore be extremely careful while doing the adjust ments as
there are no spare parts !!!
a) SCPH 10000
1. Remove the bottom a nd top cover by removing the
screws under the small pla st ic/rubber pads.
2. Remove the metal rfi- shielding at the bottom (pcb)
side.
3. Unplug the flat wire band from t he drive co nnector
by lift ing off t he clamping bridge (carefully!!!)
4. Turn the machine aro und and dismount the dr ive by
removing the two screws holding it.
5. Turn the machine back to the bottom side and plug the
wire band back to the connector.
6. Place the drive that you can access the drawer,
without bending the flat wire band (I put it on the
pcb, isolated with a sheet of paper and „up-side-down“ to
get access to the adjustable resistor s).
b) SCPH 30004 (V3)
1. Remove the EXPANSION BAY cover
and the warranty-void-sticker (don/t need it any mo re ;)
Fig. 4: Expansion Bay
2. Remove the
bottom and top cover by removing the screws under the small plastic/rubber
pads.( Sorry no pictures, yet)
3. Remove the screws holding the rfi-shield and the metal
ba se plate first, then the shield and plate
Fig. 5: Cover sheets
4. Unplug the silver ribbon cable (drive unit
connector) and the Expansion Bay
connector (Be very
careful !!!). Lift off the metal sheet on it/s left side.
Fig.
6: disconnecting the drive
5.
Turn the machine around (to top side) and dismount the drive by removing the
two screws ho lding it.
Get the drive unit out of t he co nsole (make sure you/ve
disconnected it in step 4 !!!)
Fig. 7: cd/dvd drive top side
6. Turn the conso le again upside down. Lock the black
isolation sheet in position with a small strip of
power-strip (Tesa) - this is important as the silver
ribbon cable is conductive on its surface! Place the
drive upside down on the Expansion Bay
spacers and the mainboard/s left side. Reconnect the silver
ribbon cable.
Fig.8: Service Mode Setup
4.Adjustment
Adjustment/s basically the same for all model types, only
the testpoints differ.
Connect your probe to the TP and GND. I soldered a small
piece of wire to the pad and connected the
probe via the clamp, this is safe and replaces the „third
hand“ yo u would need to hold the probe while
adjusting the laser and holding the drive. Set your
oscillosc ope to 20mV/Sect. and 0.2us/Sect.
SCPH 10000
Fig. 9: SCPH-10000 (Jap) test pin
SCPH 30004 ( Euro / US)
Fig10:SCPH-30004 V3
Fig11:SCPH-30004 V4
Fig. 12: SCPH-30004 V5
Performing the adjustments
Power up the PS2 and inser t the PS2 utility disc.
You should now see the „ eye-pattern“ signal (as below)
on your scope. Wait until the disc is
completely booted to get a stable picture on your scope.
Turn the r esisto r marked `CD` clockwise until you get
the maximum undisto rte d „eye-pattern“
(if you want more safety and a longer life of your laser
then turn back a bit so the laser doesn/t
run at full power).
Fig. 13:
"Bad" Signal Fig.
14: "Good" Signal
SCPH 10000
Fig. 15: SCPH-10000
LU
SCPH
30004
Fig. 16: SCPH-30004 LU
If you get a distorted signal just turn back a bit until
it becomes stable and clear !
Ok, now the CD section is adjusted so replace the
utility/demo CD with the DVD and reset the console.
Now do the same adjustments as above but use the variable
resistor marked `DVD` this time.
Safe values (tested on Jap model only!) :
|
Mode
|
DVD
|
CD
|
|
Oscilloscope
setting
|
20mV
/ 0.2us
per
Section
|
20mV / 0.2us
per Section
|
|
„Eye-Pattern
signals/amplitude (A) set to
|
800mV
Vpp
|
640
mV Vpp
|
